Father's Day Recollections
by SlayersFan132
Summary: Just before a battle between he and his son begins, Dracula thinks back on when he was just a boy. The fact that today is Father's Day makes him just a little bit more thoughtful, but the only person who notices is the skeleton. Oneshot.


**A/N: A simple oneshot written for Castlevania for Father's Day. I know it's just a little bit late, but I still had to write it.**

_A soft knock comes at the lid of Dracula's coffin. He growls under his breath. Is it another filthy Belmont, come to destroy him?_

_But then...they wouldn't knock, would they?_

_The lid slides off as the Lord of Shadows rises from his slumber in his towering fury. To his slight surprise, a young child stands before him, his face in a shaking, cracking mask. His blonde hair is tucked behind his elfish ears, revealing watery golden eyes framed with both long lashes and tears._

_This is Adrian. His child. His half-human child that he should dispose of, but cannot._

_His manner, his face, so resemble that of Lisa's. Or rather, how Lisa used to be._

_Before the vampire realizes it, Adrian has begun to speak._

_"F-Father," the child whispers, his voice softly lilting in a British accent that is barely there, more mature than any other five-year-old Dracula has ever seen. "I...I had a...a nightmare..."_

_A _nightmare? _Dracula is beginning to wonder just how human this child is._

_"...it was about Mother..."_

_Ah, that. Perhaps he has good enough reason, then. After all, what other children, even vampires, have experienced the death of their mother, never mind with them having been accused of witchcraft and killed in such a devastating way?_

_And so, Dracula sighs, but relents. "Come, child. Sleep with me."_

_With raised eyebrows and widened eyes, undoubtedly expecting something else, the suddenly soft-spoken half-vampire asks, "You aren't going to...?"_

_Dracula grins. "My dear Adrian, I will not. That would technically be cannibalism. Besides, you are my son, and you remind me so much of your mother. Don't worry. I don't bite...you."_

_Adrian gulps - apparently, again, that isn't what he was thinking - but scurries over to the vampire. His minuscule arms wrap around Dracula's waist. His shoulders shake with silent, unbidden sobs._

_Without thinking, Dracula lays a hand on his son's shoulder and guides him back in._

Even now, many, many years later, as Dracula faces his son, he recalls this one memory. There was a reason he kept the boy alive, though what that may be he has no idea. Perhaps he foresaw what would become of the boy in that moment, and figured a little fun couldn't hurt things - after all, how many times has he kept Adrian from defeating him once and for all? Now, he practically just looks around for a new way to revive himself and waits for either he or a Belmont to show up. Generally, Adrian comes first.

Dracula's musings end when Adrian says something that sounds slightly more important than what he was saying before.

"Are you _ignoring _me?" the boy asks. His face is indifferent, but a small quiver of anger shows in his tone on the word 'ignoring'.

Dracula responds with, "Hm? I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Adrian blinks four times before composing himself and continuing, "Well, like I was saying, Father..."

Dracula tunes out for a moment once again to examine his face and recall the shattered mask he had put on shortly after his mother's demise. Now, it is perfectly fixed, without a single flaw in sight. Even his eyes remain neutral and indifferent as he speaks, obviously aware that no one is listening but the skeleton mopping up the zombie guts at the corner of the room. Finally the boy sighs, and just a hint of his former depression shows. His face looks years older. Grief haunts his eyes.

But then all of that disappears, and Adrian raises his sword at Dracula. "I apologize, Father, but you are wrong. The humans are malicious, yes, but you are often worse."

With this said, their battle begins, and Dracula has no time to reflect on the fact that today is June 15th. Father's Day.

Had things been different, would Adrian have been at home, thinking of that very same night?


End file.
